Wooden sole for shoes



y 19 50 R. M. L. ISSALY 2,508,392

WOODEN SOLE FOR sue Es Original Filed Nov. 9, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HgZA Fi 4 l- 2 am.-

RMMEsALY Sum/M444 y 1950 R. M. ISSALY 2,508,392

WOODEN SOLE FOR SHOES Original Filed Now-9, 1942 2 SheetsShe et 2 wand/om:

VII-4 Patented May 23, 1950 WOODEN SOLE Foa, SHOES Raoul MQL. Issaly, La Tronche, Isere, France; vested in the Attorney General of the United States Original application November 9, 1942, Serial No. 465,944, now Patent No. 2,370,963, dated March 6, 1945. Divided and this application February 7, 1945, Serial No. 576,680. In France June 24,

This application is a division of application Serial No. 465,944 of Raoul M. L. Issaly, filed No- --vember .9, 1942, for the improvement in Wooden .solesfor shoes which issued as Patent No.

2,5,.70963 of March 6, 1945.

. At the present day wood is currently used for manufacturing the soles of shoes. Owing to the lack of flexibility of this material, it has been proposedto use wooden soles in which a certain amount of flexibility was obtained by providing said soles with hinges and/or springs, or by form- 1 ing notches in the wooden board constituting the sole. But these arrangements have serious inconveniences; in particular they weaken the sole which might easily break; they do not take into account that the Wood swells under the action of dampness which may result in an unpermissible :distortion of the shoe; finally they provide soles which are not watertight and which, for this 'reason, must be mounted on an insole, made either of leather or other similar material.

The invention has for its object a wooden sole i for shoes which is watertight and has all the de- 1 sired properties of flexibility, but does not offer 1 the above mentioned. inconveniences.

Said soles are constituted by wooden treads or cleats parallel to each other, at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the sole and stuck on a supporting plate made of flexible and waterproof material such as, for instance, a composition mainly made of rubber or of natural or synthetic resins. i

According to another feature, the wooden treads are suitably spaced apart for allowing them to swell without distorting the sole.

According to the invention also, the wooden soles'thus constituted are provided with wear res'isting material housed in holes provided in the wooden treads and completely passing through the same.

The invention has also for its object a method for manufacturing the soles such as above described and which'consists in utilising as support, a plate formed of a composition mainly made of rubber or of natural or synthetic resins and in applying said plate on the wooden elements by simultaneous pressure and vulcanization by means of a hot press.

For obtaining the final sole, according to the invention, the supporting plate can be cut out to the desired shape and dimensions, it can be placed in a mould, wooden treads previously cut to the required dimensions can then be arranged on 3 said support parallel to eachother by. interposing' between them s'pacingmembers of. the same heightand length constituted, for instance, by

metal strips made of soft steel, the width of which is equal to that of the space which is to be maintained between the wooden treads, then after having closed the mould with a cover, the whole can 1 Claim. (ores-.36)

ibe placed between the heating plates of a vulcanizing press of any known type.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention use is made of a large wooden board rectangular for instance, the thickness of which is that of the treads; on said board .is stuck by vulcanization under pressure a supporting plate of the same dimensions; in the wooden board are cut, by means of a suitable tool such as a circular saw, parallel grooves of the required width and penetrating to the supporting layer; then, in the compound and flexible plate thus obtained, final soles are cut to the required shapes and dimensions.

In the accompanying drawings, given by way of example,

Fig. l is a plan view of a sole according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section made according to line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2A is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modification thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section made according to line IIIIII of Fig. 1; r

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a sole according to the invention provided with protecting blocks;

Fig. 5 is a section made according to line VV of Fig. 4;

Fig. 5A is a sectional View similar to Fig. 5 but showing a modification thereof;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a compound plate obtained by the method according to the invention;

Fig. 7 is a section according to line VII-VII of Fig. 6. v

Referring to the drawings, the sole illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 is composed of a supporting plate I made either of a composition mainly made of rubber or of natural or synthetic resins, or of fabric waterprcofed by impregnation with rubber or resin, about 2.5 mm. thick and on which are stuck the wooden treads 2, which are about 10 mm. wide, I mm. thick and spaced apart to form grooves 3 about 1 mm. wide. The treads 2 have different widths according to their location on the sole, those at the tip and at the heel being wider, soas to reinforce these parts of the sole.

It will be seen that this wooden sole is waterproof; ithas in the longitudinal direction, the flexibility of the support l and the latter can serve as insole for the assemblage of the shoe which is thus greatly simplified. The space 3 left between the rods 2 allows the latter to swell under the action of dampness without producing the distortion of the sole and of the shoe on which it is secured.

g The assemblage on the shoe canybe efiected by stitching, sticking or nailing. Said sole can also bemounted by milling its edges on the tread side at 4 and by securing on the milled part a welt made of leather or rubber which protects the a 3 edges of: the wooden. elements 2. and allows. the sole to.be-. stitched on. the welt off the shoe...

In Figs. 4 and 5 a similar sole has been illustrated provided with blocks 5 made of wear re;- sisting material such for instance. as rubber or. plasticized polyvinyl chloride. Said blocks *5 which completely pass through the treads 2' in holes provided for that purpose can form part of the support I or be stuck thereon.

Owing to this arrangement thesole wears uni'-- formly and much less rapidly, the protectingmaterial being present until it is completely; worn out.

For manufacturing soles such as those above.

described, the following method can be adopted:

In a mould of suitable shape is, arranged a plate having the shape of the final sole and" of a.. composition mainly made of rubber or-offlresins; on said support are arranged the wooden elements. parallel to each other and at right angles. to the. longitudinal axis and betweeneach two successive elements is interposed a metal strip made of soit steelhaving the. same length and height as the adjacent elements and a width equal to the free space to be reserved between said elements.

When the vulcanization is terminated the sole is removed from the mould, then the metal'strips are removed. It will then be seen that the wooden treads adhere perfectly to the support and" wooden treads 1 the length of. which is e'qua1,toone of the dimensions of the. mould and of the support and the width and thickness of' which are equal to those of the wooden elements-of the sole to be obtained. Between each twosuccessive wooden treads l is. introduced a metal strip; After vulcanization between the plates of a press and removal of the metal strips, 3, compound plate is obtained such as that illustrated in-Figs.

Sand '7 comprising a supporting plate6 on which are stuck wooden treads 1 separated by intervals 8. It is then simply necessary'to cut out, according to the dotted lines 9 with a suitable tom, the soles to be obtained, as is done in. a hide for leather, soles.

According to another preferredmeth'od' of carrying out theinvention, the followingoperations are. efiected: on a plate of'a composition mainly made. of rubber intended to serve as support, is stuck by vulcanization under; pressure or by means. of a suitable solution, a sheet or board of wood. having a thickness equal to that of the elements'of the sole to be obtained. Once said compound plate obtained, it sufiices, bymeans of a tool, composed for instance of a number of circular sawssecured on one shaft; to cutout in the thickness of the wood parallel groovesextending through to the surface of the rubber and having a width of the order, for instance, of 1 mm. A plate similar to that illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 is then again obtained.

By simply modifying the interval between the various circular saws, it is possibl'e to obtain more or less wide wooden elements according to the The mould is closed and placed" between the two plates of a vulcanizingpress.

place they are to occupy on'the sole to be manufactured'. By the same method; a final sole can also be immediately obtained; the sole having been cut out to the required shape in a wooden board and the support of the same shape having' been stuck, parallel grooves are cut in the wooden sale by means of a circular saw.

For obtaining a sole such as that which is 11- lustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, use can be made of any one. of. the; above described methods, care being taken to providein the wooden elements, holes which completely pass through them. In order to insert in said holes blocks of wear resisting material, one or the other of the following methods can be adopted:

The holes being formed in the wooden treads or the board, rubber cylinders are forcibly inserted therein, having a diameter slightly greater than that of the holes which allows them toadhereto the wooden elements. Thisadherence to the sole is moreover increased when the support is stuck on" the wooden elements; as the support is then also stuck on the internal base of the cylinders.

According to another embodiment, the holes being formed in the elements and the latter; as

well as the support being placed-1 in the: mould.

before vulcanization under. thev sole: action:v of heat and pressure when said'vulcanization is" efiected, the rubber of the support penetrates intothe holes and fills them up and the weariblocks' thus constituted are formed; of' vulcanized rubber forming an integral part of the support;

For further improving the wear resisting: property of the sole, on the treadsideof: the wooden elements can be stucka sheet. made:v of. .a' good wear resisting material; such as: pcl'yvinylchloride. This supplementary application can be effected' at any m'omentrof. the cycle of' manufacture.

In Figs. 2A and fiAthis-wear: resisting-material designated: by' reference; character- HIE The repairing. of the. soles obtained: by any one of. the above described methods canrbeverysimply and rapidly" eliected in: thefollowing: manner: all the worn wooden rods are removed: andreplaced: by" new rods, of the" same length. and of suitable thickness which are, either stitohed' by hand, or stuck andf naile'd.

Having now described my invention; what I claim as new and desire to secure byLettersaPatent isz.

A.fiexible.wooden sole for: shoescomprising a supporting plate of. plasticized polym'nyl chloride, and wooden elements stuck. on said plate-parallelly to and at a distance from each otherand: at

right anglesv to; the. longitudinal; direction-of the sole.

RAOUL M. 11.. ISSALY.

REFERENCES CITED- Thefollowing referencesare of record inzthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES. PATENTS N umber. Name: Date 13675365 Pfestrofi .J.uly. 3, 1928 FGREIGN PATENTS Number. Countryv Date" 79.,965 Austria Feb; 1.0; 1920 749,468 France May. 831933 761.501. France Jami; 1934 

